The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for making electrical contact with insulated wire conductors and, more particularly concerns an electrical terminal which strips the insulation and grips the wire strands automatically as the conductor is pressed into the terminal.
Self-stripping electrical terminals are conventional, as demonstrated for example by the following U.S. Pats: No. 3,594,712 issued to Enright et al on July 1971; No. 3,683,319 issued to Vigeant et al on August 1972; No. 3,703,700 issued to Kloth et al on Dec. 10, 1974, as well as by a brochure entitled "Now Flex-Com" of Winchester Electronics, a division of Litton Industries, and by a brochure dated Feb. 1976 and entitled "Blue Macs Cable/Connector System" (No. D.S. 609.3) of T & B/Ansley Corp., a subsidiary of Thomas R. Betts Corp. Typically, such terminals include upstanding walls forming spaced slots therebetween. Inclined guide surfaces are spaced above the slots for supporting and guiding a wire to be terminated. As the wire is pushed into the slots, sharpened edges on the terminal cut through the insulation, enabling contact to be made with the wire conductor. A nose projects from the walls for connection with a circuit board or the like.
It is desirable that firm contact be established between the terminal and the conductor for a positive, long-lasting electrical connection. At the same time, however, the pressure requirements for terminating the conductor should not be unduly high. It is preferable that these criteria be met without the need for specially designed insulator housings to support and reinforce the terminal as termination is made.
Notwithstanding the many previous proposals for terminals of this nature, considerable room for improvement remains.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a novel electrical terminal for fulfilling the above-discussed needs.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel self-stripping terminal which easily accommodates termination of a wire and thereafter imparts a firm, long-lasting gripping action on the wire conductor.
It is another object of the invention to provide a self-stripping terminal which does not require the support of an insulative housing during termination.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a self-stripping terminal which prevents the stripped insulation portion from interferring with the electrical contact.